IO clarifies Hitman: Absolution difficulty

Hitman developer IO Interactive has clarified comments made last week suggesting the next game in the series, Hitman: Absolution, will be easier than past entries.

Last week director Tore Blystad explained that the series' hardcore nature had put off many consumers in the past, so the development team was now looking to make the new title more accessible.

Over the weekend, community manager Nick Price took to the game's official messageboards to calm fears that the studio was dumbing the franchise down.

"The point, which is missed completely by most people who have been alarmed by this one partial quote, isn't that we want more people to enjoy the game as such - we want people to enjoy the game more," he wrote.

"Reduce frustration and reloads and such things. Obviously, this will allow more people to play the game where they would turn it back to the store after two hours because it became to hard or too punishing too quick. But core fans will be able to enjoy the game the same way they did earlier."

First announced earlier this month, Hitman: Absolution is currently in the works for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and is expected on shelves some time next year.